


Rudolph's Refusal

by elynne



Category: Christmas - Fandom
Genre: Christmas, Christmas carol, Gen, Independence, Rudolph - Freeform, Santa Claus - Freeform, reindeer games
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-03
Updated: 2012-07-03
Packaged: 2017-11-09 03:15:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/450644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elynne/pseuds/elynne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For those of us living on the outside.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rudolph's Refusal

Rudolph the Red-Nosed reindeer  
Had a very shiny nose  
And if you ever saw it,   
You would even say it glows  
All of the other reindeer  
Used to laugh and call him names  
They never let poor Rudolph  
Join in any reindeer games  
Then one foggy Christmas Eve,   
Santa came to say -  
"Rudolph, with your nose so bright,  
Won't you guide my sleigh tonight?"

And Rudolph replied, "No."

Santa blinked, the reindeer behind him whispering in shocked tones. "Um... what?" he asked, glancing back to the rest of the team for support.

"I said, no," Rudolph replied evenly. He stepped forward into the full light of the stable, and now it was obvious to everybody that Rudolph had been living outside for quite some time. There were traces of mud on his ankles, and wisps of moss in his antlers. One flank was marked with three straight lines, fairly recently healed. He had grown into a wild, proud buck, far stronger than any of the other reindeer, who had only exercised in the yard and had been put to bed by elves in the warm, comfortable stables all year. Rudolph held his head up , his nose shining a challenging red, and stared at Santa and the other reindeer until, one by one, they looked away.

After a long moment of silence, Rudolph smiled. "I forgive you," he said, addressing Donner specifically. "But I will never pull your sleigh again. I'm done with the reindeer games forever."

With that he stepped out into the snow and flew away, his bright nose marking his ascent into the stars.


End file.
